LANGUAGE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

1.5-English - 1

SUBMITTED BY
Anushka Awasthi
SUBMITTED TO
Mr.Sopan Shinde
Asst. professor of English

MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................3
2. LANGUAGE ……………………………………………………………………4
3. CONFLICT………………………………………………………………………5
4. ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION(GENERAL)……….5
5. HOW TO APPROACH A CONFLICT…………………………………………
 TYPES OF LANGUAGES USED…………………………………………6
 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION………………………………7
 NEGOTIATION ………………………………………………...……..7
 MEDIATION………………………………………………………..….8
 ARBITRATION…………………………………………………..…….9
 ADJUDICATION……………………………………………..……….10
6. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................11

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 INTRODUCTION
Purpose of this project is appreciate the importance of language in conflict and dispute resolution
in contemporary world. How negotiators, mediators, arbitrators use particular language strategies
in order to facilitate the process of conflict resolution. The researcher takes a look at significance
of language during the course of an interaction meant to resolve.

Conflicts and disputes are a part and parcel of any society. What we are dealing here is how a
people approach to resolve it. Society keeps evolving they say, it keep changing. How? People ,
ideas, values. what constitutes a society ? it’s people. And society itself is a setup where
interdependency exists. But, as decades pass by, it’s getting nill. People are coming up with
extreme opinions, considering themselves independent. There is no harm in having an opinion
but what if it has adversarial effects? In this age of emotional and financial indepedancy
conflicts, disagreements, disputes are exponentially increasing. Some are escalated and some de-
escalated, all through rhetoric. All through delving into the intricacies of who is involed and why
so and how language plays a role between them. A major difference between olden times and
now is how people approach a conflict. At that time war, armed control etc used to be the ways
to end a conflict unlike now which is through peacefully communicating and reaching on a
conclusion. Conflicts are inevitable in a society and so it’s resolution. There are ways handle
different types of conflicts using language and communication. How? How does neuclear active
enemy countries remain peacefully. How are big companies reaching settlements? ‘’Since we
make use of language for communication, it follows that we should master the medium in
order to use it effectively. Mastering the medium requires the possession of essential language
skills. The difference between an effective communicator and an ineffective one lies in the
mastery of these skills. ‘’1

The researcher has structured the project by first giving the definitions of the terms and their
respective concepts followed by the use of language and it’s intricacies involved in a method of
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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317661533_CONFLICT_AND_RESOLUTION_THE_ROLES_OF_LANGUAG
E_CULTURE_GENDER_AND_LITERATURE accessed on 23/8/19.
conflict resolution such as mediation, negotiation, adjudication and arbitration. Further, different
contemporary examples have been discussed to understand in detail the role of language usage.

LANGUAGE

Language is the medium of communicating ideas, emotions, desires, opinions and messages.
According to Fowler (1974) ‘’a language’’ refers to the speech form of a given community of
people. It is an instrument of communication which may be used to influence personalities,
declare war, to provoke, to incite ideas, to oppose ideas, intensions and actions . communication
is the bedrock of any social system and language is the bedrock of communication. ‘’According
to crystal (1987), language is considered to be an indispensable human endowment which is
conceptualized having perhaps, ‘’magical and mystical’’ and unique role in capturing human
thought and endaevours.’’2 It is the substance of communication. It is the vehicle of
communication which defines human’s humanity. ‘’ Downes defines ‘language’ as a system of
communication for giving, receiving, and even hiding information. This perception of language
covers what Chomsky sees as ‘a set of very specific universal principles which are intrinsic
properties of the human mind and part of species genetic endowment’’3

CONFLICT

Conflict is a term derived from a Latin word, ‘confligere’ which means ‘strike together’ (Aniga,
2004).4 Conflict according to me as to my knowledge and believe is a disagreement in ideas,
opinions or terms which involves behavior that expresses opposition which may be verbal or
non verbal. And if doesn’t resolves can affect the life of people adversely. industrial Conflicts
are defined by kornhauser and rose (1954) as ‘’ the total range of behavior and attitude which
express divergent opinions and divergent orientations. ‘’Conflict is a struggle between people
with opposite needs, ideas, beliefs, values or goals, it denotes the incompatibility of subject

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Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution Vol. 1(1), pp. 001-009, June, 2009
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positions. The definition leaves open the exact nature of these incompatibilities i.e. whether they
are between individuals, groups or societal positions; whether they rest in different interests or
beliefs; or whether they have a material existence or come into being only through discourse.’’5

ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The definition of language given by Downes is relevant for this project, language plays a
significant role in both social and psychological aspects of conflict resolution. it is the heart and
soul of non violent ways of conflict resolution. It is a fact that language constitutes a
community’s shared stock of meaning, therefore the study of language provides an excellent
entry point for investigating how members of a society understand and handle conflict. In a
society, conflict resolution is as basic an activity as being able to communicate, They are an
ubiquitous part of it. Communication is essential in conflict resolution. In the world of
continued eruptions of conflicts, language and communication plays an indispensible role. It has
the power to make people do or omit doing things. Although peace is a desired condition in any
society but conflicts arise inevitably. In such situations, language, information and
communication are very essential in preventing and resolving it. I would like to add this example
from the Indian freedom struggle when Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote an article about two girls
being raped by a police officer and consequently Chapekar brothers went on to attack Rand who
was the poona plaque commissioner and eventually he was killed, through this I am trying to
explain how powerful language could be that it made them commit murder. Most of the ways
adopted in non violent methods of managing conflict such as dialogue, negotiation and
collaboration as well as third party interventions such as conciliation, arbitration, mediation and
adjudication depends on the effective application of communication.6

Moreover, language plays a key role from start of international business transactions as it reflects
the identities and intentions of the parties involved. Apparent rise in international commercial

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SHUR: Human Rights in Conflicts: The Role of Civil Society, a STREP project funded by the EU 6 Framework
Programme.
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transaction has resulted in a parallel urgent increase in need foe an effective and unified dispute
resolution system that can settle disputes between international paties.7

WAYS TO APPROACH A CONFLICT THROUGH LANGUAGE

TYPES OF LANGUAGES USED

People deal with conflicts in their ways, language they use depends on what is their orientation
towards the conflict and what type of communication they choose to deal in with. Broadly, it can
be classified in two ways, ‘’competitive and cooperative’’8 competitive language can be
classified by a behavior which includes justifications, irrelevant arguments, personal attacks (ad
homenem fallacy) and excessive demands and threats. This is used to maximize personal
outcome even at the expense of the other party. On the contrary, cooperative language includes
behavior of association, proposals, agreements and confidence in the other party. This is
attributed to fairness and is followed by interests of both the parties. Of how a person
communicates out of any of the above mentioned types is based on a number of factors like
culture, individual differences and emotions. Use of any one communication type impacts the
outcome of the conflict. Cooperative language helps in bringing a solution while competitive
ones make it difficult to identify areas that are in interest of both the parties. But again, it
depends on context or the situation which is being dealt with. There is another way which some
people choose is avoidance, they just move through the sidelines trying to avoiding confrontation
with the other party which may backfire at times.

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Raymond Cohen,International Studies Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring, 2001), pp. 25-51Published by: Blackwell
Publishing on behalf of The International Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3186511 .
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Alternative dispute reslolutoion is becoming predominant in conflict management at both

national and international level. There are plenty of examples which tell the stories of countries,
firms, companies settled their disputes and restored to peaceful through methods discussed
above. dispute resolution strategy combines elements of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
processes such as mediation and arbitration. Google’s guiding principle of conflict resolution is
‘’don’t litigate, negotiate’’. Back in 2014, Google avoided formal charges by the Federal Trade
Commission by agreeing to make small changes to its search practices. That February, Google
reached a similar deal with European Commission regulators, promising to reserve space high on
its European search pages for competitors to offer their own search results, albeit only after
paying Google for the space. The rivals’ offerings would be shaded and marked as “alternatives.”
The deal allowed Google to avoid an official probe and a potential fine of up to 10% of its global
annual revenue, which was $59.8 billion in 2013, according to the Journal. Google competitors,
including Microsoft and Nokia, said the settlement terms did not go far enough.9

1. NEGOTIATION

Negotiation in simple terms is a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. It has to do with

carrying out plans through some norms that are socially acceptable in achieving a
predetermined goal. Akinnawonu says ‘’dialogue must be constructively employed in
disputes or conflicts situations to get the peaceful resolution, further he states that rule of law
ensures peace rather than violence and knowing that dialogue is a necessary path to peace, it
means that dialogue is a basic factor in ensuring rule of law.’’10 Main element of negotiation
is effective communication. Many conflicts arises due to lack of communication which
creates misunderstandings and suspicions between the parties, because they don’t get a
chance to explain their side of the story. It is interesting to note that there are words and
phrases specially devised for the purpose of negotiation.

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https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/googles-approach-to-dispute-resolution
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 During a negotiation, both verbal and nonverbal language plays a critical role. Indeed, the
success of a negotiation strategy may well depend on your mastery of the language of
negotiation, one should know how to position oneself from the very first words spoken in
the negotiation, adopt an attitude that maximizes the information that you can obtain from the
other side present one’s point of view persuasively, use language effectively to influence the
other side, Do you choose words that help move the negotiation toward a satisfactory
outcome.

‘’Negotiation dialogue can take place only where exchanging and sharing of information is
possible. Communication, therefore, is the goal of language as mutual agreement is the goal of
conflict resolution.’’11

2. MEDIATION

According to Godowns,’’ Mediation is a special type of negotiation in which a neutral third party
has a role. Such a role is to help is to help the parties in conflict achieve a naturally acceptable
settlement’’ conciliation and fact finding approaches of non adversarial method of resolution of
conflicts should be regarded as part of mediation. Conciliation involves a trusted third party
which helps make an informal communication between the two parties in conflict. Example,
international conflicts between Egyptians and Isrealis similarly between Palanstinians and Jews
wereby Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger intervened respectively.

‘‘particular language features are found in mediation as well as how mediators adapt to
dynamically different mediations through their use of language’’12 statement and phrases
exchanged between parties are indicative of their cultures and understandings. The way they are
used by parties alsom reflects their intentions in that situation.

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313700337_The_Language_of_Mediation accessed on 24/9/19.
 3. ARBITRATION

Arbitration is a non violent method of conflict resolution in which an arbitrator is involved,

arbitrator is an independent person who is officially appointed to examine and settle a dispute.
‘’Use of a third party in settling disputes and conflicts through negotiation, dialogue,
cooperation, communication, information flow and management is becoming more apparent in
our societies. The arbiter hears the evidences from both the parties and may listen to witnesses,
representatives of the parties, evaluate documents concerning the conflict. After collecting
information and facilitating discussion which is aimed at helping make a critical decision about
who should get what which should in turn ensure fair play and justice. The decision of an
arbitrator is called an Award which is expected to be binding on both the parties’’13 competent
communication is required to get successful arbitration because listening and speaking skills,
reading and writing skills are necessary for effective communication.

Ex 1. WIPO Pharma Patent License Arbitration, A French pharmaceutical research and

development company licensed know-how and patented pharmaceuticals to another French
company. The license agreement includes an arbitration clause that provides that any dispute will
be resolved under the WIPO Arbitration Rules by an arbitral tribunal consisting of three
members in accordance with French law. Faced with the licensee’s apparent refusal to pay the
license fee, the R&D company initiated arbitration proceedings.14

2. wipo software trademark arbitration In order to facilitate the use and registration of their
respective trademarks worldwide, two companies a North American communication company
based in us and canada and another company based in asian countries. the parties entered into a
coexistence agreement which contains a WIPO arbitration clause. When the North-American
company tried to register its trademark in a particular Asian country, the application was refused
because of a risk of confusion with the prior mark held by the other party. The North-American
company requested that the other party undertake any efforts to enable it to register its mark in
that Asian country and, when the other party refused, initiated arbitration proceedings. the parties

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Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution Vol. 1(1), pp. 001-009, June, 2009
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https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/arbitration/case-example.html accessed on 21/08/19.
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appointed a leading IP lawyer as sole arbitrator. In an interim award the sole arbitrator gave
effect to the consensual solution suggested by the parties, which provided for the granting by the
hardware manufacturer of a license on appropriate terms to the North-American company,
including an obligation to provide periodic reports to the other party.15

4. ADJUDICATION

When parties decide to resolve their conflicts in law courts and use legislation machanisms. The
judgement given by the competent court is binding on both the parties and will be legally
enforced. Lawyers or counsels are engaged in adjudication processes they present the cases in
courts with proper arguments, evidences, claims, proofs, cross examinations, witnesses with an
aim of winning and judgement is delivered. This non violent method though highly preferred but
in my opinion it renders people in a state of misery when there is a loss because it has extreme
results. It is a win-loss situation where one party can walk happily but the one loosing can have
adversarial aftereffects. Also, there is no or very less scope of reconciliation because a sense of
hatred is induced when adjudication is taken up.

Conflict in general could arise in any community, where people posses a set of shared meanings
enabling them to make rational sense of the world. This set of meaning constitutes the common
sense of that community and determines all its communication and behavior. Mother tongue
being the main repository of their common sense, other systems that demarcate communities
includes religion, popular culture and non verbal behavior.16 clearly, having an understanding of
a particular language creates a huge difference in how a person perceive conflict. ‘’While it is
legitimate for English speakers to use their native-language paradigm as a baseline against which
to measure non-English versions, speakers of other languages are equally entitled to consider
their own paradigms as normative. It is clear that conflict resolution should be studied with full
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https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/arbitration/case-example.html accessed on 21/08/19.
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Raymond Cohen,International Studies Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring, 2001), pp. 25-51Published by: Blackwell
Publishing on behalf of The International Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3186511
regard for the source language in which it is articulated and conducted. Results of thoughts and
perception in different languages Doubt must be cast on the working assumption that foreign
languages can be ignored in research because general models of behavior propositions about
behavior, based on English-language sources and expressed in English capture an objective
reality somehow beyond culture’’.17 Therefore for this project, role of English in particular shall
be discussed throughout. This project will at a macro level examine how episodes of language
that move conflict towards a resolution.

CONCLUSION

After analyzing how and to what extent language impacts society, conflicts and its resolution it
has been made clear that certain ways are any day more effective than others. Also, study of all
the aspects of the people who are involved in a conflict is important including the study of their
language in which the dispute resolution can be carried out and parties can be brought to terms,
the cultural values in the parties must be understood and respected. ‘’Also, many
communication channels should be opened and utilized in settling disputes. The language must
package and communicate justice and peace. Communication should be effectively used during
process of sharing and exchanging information between individuals, groups, parties in conflict.
I’am opined that language and communication should be given more attention to get to the root
causes, information and understanding and management for resolution of continued eruptions of
conflicts in 21st centuary.’’18

17
Raymond Cohen,International Studies Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring, 2001), pp. 25-51Published by: Blackwell
Publishing on behalf of The International Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3186511 .

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